


Love is a Many Splendored Thing

by ohsnapitsmama



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Arora-chihou | Alola, But only a little, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Pining, Self-Indulgent, i hope so, i think, is that the right tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22565122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohsnapitsmama/pseuds/ohsnapitsmama
Summary: Blue was in love with his best friend. He didn't want to be, and if he had any say in the matter he wouldn't be. But he didn't, and he was. Loving Red was an undeniable fact, it was part of the very essence of Blue's being. And Blue hated that.
Relationships: Ookido Green | Blue Oak/Red
Comments: 2
Kudos: 151





	Love is a Many Splendored Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Bare with me - I never played the original games, and all my facts come from wikis or talking to friends who did, so I might be like canon compliant adjacent, but I tried. If you've read my Captive Prince fic 'Breathless', this is written in a similar style vis a vis no dialogue, kind of poetic. This is my first time writing something for Pokemon, and it's super self indulgent. Hope you enjoy! Leave a comment if you do!

Blue was in love with his best friend. He didn’t want to be, and if he had any actual say in the matter he wouldn’t. But he was, and he didn’t. It’d been going on as long as he could remember, even before they were best friends. When he’d been a snot-nosed kid who spent all his time taking out his own problems and aggressions on other people, he was in love with Red; When he was the Viridian gym leader and hadn’t heard from Red in ages, he was in love with Red; When he studied abroad in Kalos and barely had enough room in his head to remember to eat properly most days, he was in love with Red. Loving Red was an undeniable fact, it was part of the very essence of Blue’s being. Sometimes he thought he would be in love with Red until they day he died, even if Red never loved him back. And Blue hated that. He hated it because it was the truth. He hated it because he knew Red would never really love him back, not the same way. Red deserved better than Blue, he always had. There wasn’t anything exciting or new that Blue could offer him, not really. There were days where Blue couldn’t convince himself he wasn’t the reason Red ran away to Mt. Silver in the first place, or that he wouldn't send him running back again. Everyone told him he wasn’t and he wouldn't, Red told him he wasn’t and he wouldn't, but he had a hard time believing it. So, he never said anything. He never told Red how he felt, how he’d been feeling, how he would feel for the rest of his life. And that was ok. It was ok that they were just friends, Blue would tell himself. It was ok. He got to be near Red and make sure he was safe, and that’s all that mattered. Right?

Blue was in love with his best friend. He’d tried very hard to keep it a secret, but apparently he didn’t have as good a poker face as he thought. It’s Daisy who notices first. Blue’s visiting her and they’re having tea in the backyard when she asks how Red’s doing, what they planned to do next. She said his face looked softer than she’d ever seen it. She said he smiled genuinely and spoke with the kind of affection her husband spoke about her with. Blue denied it, of course. Loudly and vehemently. But his face burned bright the entire time, embarrassment stretching from his collarbone to the tips of his ears. Daisy laughed good-naturedly and patted him on the arm. It’s ok, she said. It’s ok that you love him, it’s ok that you have these feelings. She said she would be more surprised if he didn’t. When she asked him if he’d confessed, if he planned to confess, if he ever would confess, Blue tried to change the subject. Daisy wouldn’t let him. Of course she wouldn’t. You deserve good things, she’d said. Red is a good thing. Blue knew that. He’d always known that. Red was the best thing, ever. But Blue wasn’t a good thing, and certainly not good enough a thing for Red. So he didn’t confess, had no plans to confess, and never would confess because somewhere out there was the perfect person for Red. And it wasn’t Blue. Daisy didn’t push the conversation further. She frowned a bit and poured him another cup of tea, letting him finally change the subject. Did she know about the professor in Alola trying to set up a Pokemon League, he asked. She didn’t. So he told her.

Blue was in love with his best friend. And it was driving him crazy. They’d gone on a trip to Alola together, having been invited by the professor there to run their Battle Tree. It’d been amazing. Of all the places Blue had traveled to before, Alola might have been his favorite. Red had loved it, too, and seeing the unabashed joy in his eyes when they came across a new pokemon to study made Blue’s chest ache. They lived together while working at the Battle Tree. It felt effortless and easy, like some puzzle had finally been solved. It felt natural and simple, like that was the way they were always meant to be. It made Blue yearn. It made Blue ache and want and need. It made Blue lie awake at night agonizing over his stupid heart and stupid head and fighting the stupid tears in his eyes. He wondered if it was possible for someone to die of heartache. Could their emotions decide enough is enough and just take them out? Could being in enough emotional distress cause organ failure? He wondered if that would happen to him. He tried to find out if they could live separately after a while. They could, so they did.

Blue was in love with his best friend. And his best friend was angry with him. Why did he move out like that, what was the sudden change? Was it something Red did, something he said? Was Blue angry with him? Had he hurt him? No, none of those things. Blue told Red he couldn’t hurt him, not anymore. Then why? Was it so terrible living with him? Blue couldn’t take it. Red was asking too much and it hurt to hear him yell it in his raspy, unused voice. It hurt to hear him yell it in the voice that he only used with Blue. Why did it matter, he asked. It’s just a stupid apartment, and living together wasn’t a requirement of working at the Tree. Didn’t Red enjoy his solitude, didn’t he like to be alone? Blue’s gut twisted with every word he spat at Red’s feet, and tears pricked the corners of his eyes. He was pushing Red away, just like he knew he would. His love was taking a toll on him and he couldn’t keep this up, not anymore. His love was taking a toll on him and he had to let go. So he tried. He tried to push Red so far away nothing would bring him back. But Red didn’t budge. His feet didn’t move, he didn’t run away like Blue demanded he did. He opened his mouth, spoke quietly with hard eyes and a hard frown, but Blue didn’t register it. They stood in silence, staring at each other for painfully long minutes while Blue struggled to process what Red said. Blue’s eyes were wide, surprised, owlish; Red’s eyes were angry, fiery, sad. Sorry, Blue said, could he repeat that again? So Red did. Red repeated what he said and stepped closer to Blue, closing more than one distance between them. Red repeated himself once, twice, half a dozen times until he stood directly in front of Blue and could see the tears threatening to spill over his cheeks. Red repeated himself until the pain and fear in Blue’s eyes subsided. Red repeated himself until Blue told him to shut up and reached for his face with trembling hands.

Blue was in love with his best friend. And his best friend was in love with him. And their first kiss felt explosive, like the entire universe had shattered and rearranged itself around them in that instant. It felt effortless and easy, like some puzzle had finally been solved. It felt natural and simple, like that was how they were always meant to be. But it didn’t make Blue yearn. It didn’t make Blue ache or want or need. He felt at peace for the first time in his life. He felt warm and content and loved and every positive emotion he ever had a word for. Red loved him, and it felt amazing. Red loved him, and it felt beautiful. Red loved him, and it felt like home.


End file.
